News in Review for Oct. 20

A Palestinian man, armed with a gun and a knife, opened fire on an Israeli bus station on Sunday. The attack left an Israeli soldier and the attacker dead while 10 others were wounded. The incident was the latest in an increasing wave of violence between Palestinian youth and Israeli security forces that has left 41 Palestinians and seven Israelis dead as of Sunday, according to Reuters.

The violence all started after Palestinians alleged that Israel was encroaching on Muslim rights at the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. They have asserted that some Jews want to be allowed to pray at the mosque, the former site of a Jewish temple, which would break an agreement that reserves the mosque for Muslim prayer alone.

In response to the violence, some municipalities have enacted stricter controls on the movements of Arabs, according to Reuters. At least four cities have banned Arab workers from going to Israeli schools and there is a new legislative proposal that would broaden the police’s stop-and-frisk abilities. Both moves have been decried by Arab rights groups.

The Israeli government has also opposed a U.N. proposal that would put an international coalition of peacekeepers in Jerusalem, according to The Washington Post.

A federal judge has decided against forcing Texas officials to issue birth certificates to children of immigrants on Saturday, citing insufficient “evidence to carry the burden necessary to grant relief,” according to the ruling.

Immigrant families had filed an injunction in order to obtain the birth certificates, saying that their children were being denied their rights to schooling, health care and travel, according to Time Magazine. District Court Judge Robert Pitman called the argument compelling, but said he was unable to grant the injunction due to the lack of evidence.

The lawyers for the families contended that special Mexican identification documents known as“matriculas consulares,” which had been used as late as 2013 to obtain birth certificates in Texas, were now being denied by health officials. However, Pitman noted that there was no evidence that these officials improperly focused on these documents in denying birth certificates.

LOCAL

Nevada regulators shut down state operation of daily fantasy leagues

Nevada gaming regulators banned daily fantasy sports websites from operating in the state Thursday, according to The Las Vegas Review-Journal. The cease and desist order, handed down from the Gaming Control Board, states that sites like DraftKings or FanDuel must apply for a gaming license before they can operate in Nevada.

The move comes contrary to repeated assertions by these fantasy leagues that their operations are games of skill, not gambling. Even so, Nevada is the sixth state to ban such companies.

Jacob Solis can be reached at jsolis@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter@TheSagebrush.